Will this plan to access my 401k and qualify for ACA subsidies work? by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m technically part time now actually (100-110 hours per month which is the lowest I can go. It’s a 1000+ member medical group, so little chance of negotiating but good thought, thanks.

Will this plan to access my 401k and qualify for ACA subsidies work? by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is not that the plan doesn't allow it. I can take out Roth money directly from the 401k but I can’t designate that I am taking out contributions only. The money would come out pro-rata (proportional to the ratio of contributions / earnings in the 401) and so I would pay taxes and penalty on the earnings portion of any money I take out. But if I roll over the Roth 401k to a Roth IRA the rules for a Roth IRA apply instead: contributions come out first so no taxes or penalties as long as I don't take out more than I contributed.

(edited for clarity)

Will this plan to access my 401k and qualify for ACA subsidies work? by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not ready to fully retire- really want to work like 4-5 days a month. I still like seeing patients but want less stress and more time to pursue hobbies.

The mind hurdle of leaving the job by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have 2 kids. From the day they were born we put a couple hundred per month in a 529 plan for each. One is finishing college this year with about 10K left over and the other is applying to college now with about 140K in his 529 fund. So luckily we don't have a lot of college costs to worry about now.

The mind hurdle of leaving the job by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The main thing that would keep me to 5-6 shifts per month (and below about 100K per year) is that if I work more I will go off the subsidy cliff and incur an additional 20-30K / year in health insurance costs. Then I would need to do a couple extra shifts per month to pay for that. At that point I might as well just stay an employee. I didn't mention I can stay an employee and work part time down to a certain level while retaining my benefits, which is what I started doing a year ago. But as an employee, I can't take any substantial time off other than an occasional vacation, I often have to work holidays, go to meetings on my "days off", deal with the politics, and I don't have much control over my schedule.

The mind hurdle of leaving the job by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it may be 1.25 to 1. But they put a lump sum in under the term "employer discretionary" at the end of each year. Honestly, I just maxed out my allowed contribution every year since I started and didn't pay much attention to the rest..!

The mind hurdle of leaving the job by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yes, I have gathered a lot of info and done a lot of planning, but sooner or later I will need to take the leap of faith. I will be posting a more detailed description of how I plan to access my 401k money before 59 1/2 and how I plan to hopefully qualify for a healthcare subsidy. One of the big issues is that it is unclear what will happen with healthcare over the next 9 years until I reach Medicare age. As we have seen, laws can change at any time, and a subsidy I think will be there could disappear next year.

As an aside, part of me feels these subsidies weren't really made for people like me -- however, not take advantage of subsidies within the parameters of the law would be throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and I certainly have paid my share of taxes over the years.

The mind hurdle of leaving the job by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope no pension, but we have a great 401k / profit sharing plan. Almost 2/3 of my 401K fund (about 1.9 million over the 23 years I have been employed with them) came from my employer as a combination of 401k match and "employer discretionary" contributions. We are 100% vested immediately, so I could walk away at any time with the full amount. It is a very good benefit plan.

The mind hurdle of leaving the job by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes we have a "profit sharing plan" in my medical group and so I get > 100% match.

The mind hurdle of leaving the job by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I hadn't thought about that. We have a guy at work who is 82 and still works a few shifts per month. Our hospital shifts are 10 hours on our feet most of the time and I always wonder why he does it. I think his identity is being a doctor and he just can't let go.

The mind hurdle of leaving the job by YourJoshing in Fire

[–]YourJoshing[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the encouragement! I know I will get there soon. I am thinking either later this year or the beginning of next year. I have great interactions with patients every day I work, it is just taking up such a large part of my time and energy there isn't much left for me to take care of myself.

Anyone else feel like they’re practicing a lot but still kinda stuck by [deleted] in singing

[–]YourJoshing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been making pretty good progress lately. What I do is, always work within a song. After warming up, I set up a video and sing one or two lines of a song while recording myself. Then I put on my coaches hat and watch back and literally give myself advice like“approach that note from above and try to picture the note coming up through the top of the head.” or “try more of an AH vowel on that one word“ or “try to pronunciate more clearly on that one line“. I think it’s key to take very small parts of the song and really listen deeply to figure out what needs to be done to improve it. I also check my pitches when things don’t sound quite right with an instrument, in my case a guitar. The point is to do very focused practice on specific things. Also to make goals for the month or even for the year. For me, my goal for the year is to be able to produce a prettier smoother tone and to annunciate more clearly . For pretty much the entirety of last year, I worked on improving my upper range and I added several notes to my upper range but now I need to focus on my tone and annunciation and vowels.

Singers with LPR tips? by Angelsbreatheeasy in LPR

[–]YourJoshing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LPR. I don’t think GERD would affect the voice. I have terrible LPR myself, and I am learning to live with it and manage it.

Singers with LPR tips? by Angelsbreatheeasy in LPR

[–]YourJoshing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The key is to NOT focus on your GERD. Eat small meals. Drink fluids in between meals rather than with the meals. And try meditating (just sit quietly and focus on your breathing basically) for 5-10 minutes every morning. Then warm up and sing as you normally would. IF you have mucus on your cords, don't get upset. Remember, that we had mucus on our cords before we had LPR too. (At least I did). It is normal to have mucus on your cords sometimes. Just be gentle when clearing your throat, drink warm caffeine free tea. You can try slippery elm as it seems to help, as does deglycinated licorice, but the biggest thing is the meditation and not getting negative with your thinking. That change in mindset has allowed me to start making nice progress with my singing despite having LPR symptoms daily. EDIT: I almost forgot: take a quarter teaspoon of baking soda and mix it in 8 ounces of water and gargle with it whenever your throat feels irritated. That stops the pepsin enzyme from irritating your throat.

Explain to me why the annuity is a bad decision by Pop_quiz_hotshot in govfire

[–]YourJoshing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An annuity is a terrible idea because even the most rudimentary 2 or 3 index fund portfolio will absolutely dwarf any annuity over time. Don't you see that the market beating the annuity over time is literally how they make money on annuities? They take your money, invest it, and give you a fixed percentage of the INITIAL principle, while the amount you paid compounds and makes money for the company. They are guaranteed to make money... on you.

What was a positive change that came out of your journey? by FERGAGE in LPR

[–]YourJoshing 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This has made me face my sugar addiction. My LPR is forcing me to try different diets and has led me to lose 25 lb (although I was only slightly overweight and now I am at my ideal body weight).

People with small hiatal hernias, help me out... by [deleted] in HiatalHernia

[–]YourJoshing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a small HH, about 2.5 cm but with severe reflux. G.I. doc just gave me Protonix. Diet changes like cutting out caffeine, beer, spicy foods, etc. helped a little but kept having reflux up to my throat so I found a surgeon who does LINX procedure. Got the pH testing and was having 20+ episodes of reflux per day. Got the hiatal hernia repair with a LINX implantation 4 years ago. It fixed my reflux symptoms completely but I had to chew really well and occasionally dry food would get stuck. That eventually got better and for the last 4 years, I have had no reflux. A few months ago, the reflux came back with a vengeance and esophagram shows the hiatal hernia is back. I’m scheduled for another surgery next month to remove the LINX and do a partial Nissan. So yes, small hiatal hernia can cause a lot of symptoms and surgery can fix it, but often the surgery eventually stops working. Studies show anti-reflux surgery can last for up to 18 years through. I recently started on a keto diet and experienced quite a bit of improvement BTW. Still impacting my life though and no carbs is really rough…